Portable drying rack



Nov. 30, 1965 .1. w. H. BISHOP PORTABLE DRYING RACK Filed April 8, 1964 R F W ml mm F N: 1B fl i 2 M N N M H m fi E wE Am 3: WM ,+N MN iN n 0N 3N 6N z 4 E $1 m 3 .m m

ATTO RNEY United States Patent 3,220,559 PORTABLE DRYING RACK John W. H. Bishop, 3940 Cote Des Neige, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Filed Apr. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 358,196 2 Claims. (Cl. 211-86) This invention relates generally to racks or hangers for supporting objects, clothes, negatives for photographs and other objects and more particularly to a portable drying rack of pliable material which can be easily supported from any convenient point.

It is often necessary to wash out lingerie, stockings, articles of clothing or to hang negatives to dry during the developing process or to dry other items wherein the facilities for drying the same are in many instances limited, for example for apartment dwellers to their bathroom or kitchens or for a traveler to his hotel room.

However, means for hanging these articles to permit them to dry is either lacking or inadequately provided.

The present invention overcomes this problem by providing a portable drying rack made of plastic or the like type material, basically waterproof, and which can be aflixed by several alternate means at any suitable point in a bathroom, kitchen, hotel room or any other suitable place to provide means for holding articles to be dried.

Thus, the present invention covers an elongated pliable plastic drying rack having a plurality of cutouts therein which form a plastic lattice on which articles to be dried can be hung and supporting end plates with alternate suspension means therein which facilitate and permit the drying rack to be hung as from a shower curtain rod or to be attached to a metallic surface.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple inexpensive drying rack which can be easily folded so that it can be carried or stored in a relatively small space.

It is another object of the precent invention to provide a drying rack which is simple in construction and which can be easily atfixed to any conventional object such as a shower curtain rod.

These objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages may be obtained by this device as referred I to by way of illustration of the invention, in the accompanying specification and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows the drying rack as including an elongated drying member 1 made of any suitable plastic material which is reasonably pliable and not subject to deterioration from water, or other liquids, is inert to salts, acids, etc. and can be dried quickly when wet. The drying member 1 is rather wide, substantially fiat and relatively thin as appears clear from the figures of the drawings.

Drying member 1 has a plurality of openings or cutouts stamped therefrom as at 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2] and 2g to form a lattice of longitudinally extending side members as at 3 and 4 and a plurality of transverse members as at 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e and 5f.

At the respective ends of the drying member 1 end supporting plates 6 and 7 may be formed continuously with the drying member or alternatively be connected thereto as by a suitable epoxy resin, rivets or other suitable connecting means for the particular type of material from which the drying member is formed it being understood that the supporting plates 6 and 7 may be one material and the drying member another without departing from the scope of the present invention.

However, in the preferred form of the present inven-v tion the end supporting plates 6 and 7 are formed continuously with the drying member as this provides a stronger structure for the purpose for which the rack will be utilized.

In the end supporting plates 6 and 7 two alternate types of connecting means are provided to permitthe drying rack to be either attached to a rod, affixed to a metal surface or looped about a support member as may be required to adapt it for the desired use.

One form of connecting means includes a plurality of sized openings as at 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d which are disposed on the respective end support plates 6 and 7 in spaced relation to each other in the preferred form of the invention as shown. Two sizes will be in the end plate 6 and two sizes will be in the end plate 7.

To facilitate the use of these openings each of the openings is provided with inserting slots as at 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d which slots are shown in FIGURE 1 are substantially V-shaped in plan view the inner aspect or vertex of the V communicating and opening into the edge of the respective sized opening with which it is associated as at 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d. The inserting slots 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d extend from the vertex to form a wide mouth in the peripheral edge or side of the respective end supporting plates in which they are formed as at 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d.

Since the inserting slots 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d are wider at the peripheral edge of the end supporting plates 6 and 7 and in the preferred form of the invention the end supporting plates are pliable and deformable, it is readily easy to slip either or both of the end supporting plates about a suitable supporting mechanism such as a shower curtain rod, a faucet or the like means.

The alternate connecting means consists of a first magnet means 12 in the end supporting plate 6 and a second magnet means 13 in the end supporting plate 7.

The respective magnet means 12 and 13 are made of a Waterproof plastic magnetic material such as Korosea or the like which products can be easily purchased on the open market.

In FIGURES 1 and 3 the magnets are shown as having laterally disposed grooves 14 and 15 on either side of the magnets so that if a suitable opening 16 is formed in the end supporting plates the magnets can be snapped into assembled position.

In use the drying rack can be aflixed to a metal support with either of the magnets, or the magnets can be brought into coacting relationship with each other to permit the drying rack to be looped about a suitable support as for example a wooden rod or a plastic fixture in the bathroom or kitchen or motel room where the device will be utilized.

Once the drying rack is placed in supporting position as for example hung on a shower curtain rod or aifixed by the magnet means 12 or 13 to a metal surface, the articles to be dried can be either drawn through the openings 2a, 2b, 20, etc. so as to lie across either the longitudinal ribs 3 and 4 or the transverse ribs 5a, 5b, 50, etc. or they can be aifixed to the longitudinal or transverse ribs by means of clothespins or other suitable connecting means.

Since the drying rack will be made of a pliable material, it is believed obvious that it can be folded so as to be stored away in a relatively small space.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodiment of the invention. The component parts have been shown and described. They each may have substitutes which may perform a substantially similar function; such substitutes may be known as proper 3 substitutes for the said components and may have actually been known or invented before the present invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being within the scope of the appended claims, although they are not specifically catalogued herein.

What is claimed:

1. A drying rack comprising,

(a) a pair of longitudinally elongated, parallel side members,

(b) a plurality of parallel spaced apart transverse members connecting the side members and being perpendicular thereto,

() the side members and transverse members collectively defining a flat, longitudinally elongated lattice with rectangular openings,

(d) a support plate on at least one end of the lattice,

(e) the plate having a plurality of different sized openings, each opening connected to one side of the plate by a relatively narrow slot,

(f) the transverse members assuming a generally horizontal position when the lattice is supported under the influence of gravity by a support extending through one of the openings in the plate.

2. A drying rack comprising,

(a) the structure in accordance with claim 1 and,

(b) a magnet at each end of the lattice,

(c) the lattice being symmetrical about a transverse axis equidistant between the magnets,

(d) the side members of the lattice being foldable about the said transverse axis, and

(e) the magnets attractively engaging each other when the side members are folded about the said transverse axis.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,017,088 10/1935 Bihler 211- 2,317,507 4/ 1943 Zimmerman 24-17 2,319,292 5/1943 Boggs 211--1.2 2,344,339 3/1944 Zwald 21186 2,604,159 7/ 1952 Wright 248206 2,690,844 10/1954 Torrance 2111 19 2,793,762 5/1957 Broussard 211113 2,932,407 4/1960 Citron 21 11 13 3,085,691 4/1963 Smith 21186 FOREIGN PATENTS 870,294 6/ 1961 Great Britain.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DRYING RACK COMPRISING, (A) A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY ELONGATED, PARALLEL SIDE MEMBERS, (B) A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL SPACED APART TRANSVERSE MEMBERS CONNECTING THE SIDE MEMBERS AND BEING PERPENDICULAR THERETO, (C) THE SIDE MEMBERS AND TRANSVERSE MEMBERS COLLECTIVELY DEFINING A FLAT, LONGITUDINALLY ELONGATED LATTICE WITH RECTANGULAR OPENINGS, (D) A SUPPORT PLATE ON AT LEAST ONE END OF THE LATTICE, (E) THE PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT SIZED OPENINGS, EACH OPENING CONNECTED TO ONE SIDE OF THE PLATE BY A RELATIVELY NARROW SLOT, (F) THE TRANSVERSE MEMBERS ASSUMING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION WHEN THE LATTICE IS SUPPORTED UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY BY A SUPPORT EXTENDING THROUGH ONE OF THE OPENINGS IN THE PLATE. 